Hi Roger, I like your summing up statement.
The owner is in the trade, he said he purchased it off a friend who had owned it for at least 40 years. Would it have been worthwhile back then to "put it together" so to speak? I suppose it's possible the work was done during the course of the 40 years.
What did the number struck out on the scope bracket relate too?
The question is, how much is it worth compared to an original with its matched scope? At this stage, I still think I should walk away.
Ian.